I gotcha. I put a little piece of tape around the lid of my Vario. It is air tight enough, and besides, the beans are still degassing at 4-5 days (my vac pot/BraZen stash)I noticed no degradation with my espresso blend though.However, for those that change their beans constantly, single dosing is the answer.

Hello guys. I just received my Gaggia Classic and I'm in the process of dialling in my vario.

I've used my vario for about a year with my Andreja Premium and sold the AP to go to drip coffee for a while. I purchased stainless steel burrs from baratza for my drip needs. Now tonight I put back the ceramic burrs and calibrated the Vario like I was doing before macro up and micro half way until a noticeable engine labor. And all I'm getting from the classic are gushers. Even if I calibrate at the second notch from the top on the macro and put both levers up to grind.

Now I will keep trouble shooting everything else like the OPV pressure on the Classic and try to get darker roast beans but my question is this:

Can I go too far by calibrating the Vario too fine and break something? How would I know if I went too far? My understanding is that I can't dull the burrs cause its only the outer rim of the burrs that can touch?

Pascal, did you do a cleaning of your Vario?Do what I've described here about 30 times, including removing the lower burr, and blowing compressed air in the channels of the levers.Don't over-tighten the 3 screws securing the lower burr when reinserted it. Just comfortably tight.Then perform the calibration procedure again.Don't forget, a different machine (different baskets!) has different grind parameters. The pressure may be set a bit higher on the Gaggia as well.

Hello guys. I just received my Gaggia Classic and I'm in the process of dialling in my vario.

I've used my vario for about a year with my Andreja Premium and sold the AP to go to drip coffee for a while. I purchased stainless steel burrs from baratza for my drip needs. Now tonight I put back the ceramic burrs and calibrated the Vario like I was doing before macro up and micro half way until a noticeable engine labor. And all I'm getting from the classic are gushers. Even if I calibrate at the second notch from the top on the macro and put both levers up to grind.

Now I will keep trouble shooting everything else like the OPV pressure on the Classic and try to get darker roast beans but my question is this:

Can I go too far by calibrating the Vario too fine and break something? How would I know if I went too far? My understanding is that I can't dull the burrs cause its only the outer rim of the burrs that can touch?

Tanks Rob the tips. I did just that this morning as well as adjust the OPV one full turn. ( ill have to get a better gauge for my PF since the one I have doesn't give a good reading bouncing up dans down between 140 and 160 PSI) and got more beans (roasted 5 days ago)

Pretty much the same result. I calibrated the grinder to two notch below on the macro and middle with the micro. I can get a 23-25 sec shot with 18g only when I put both levers all the way up.

Now I'm just worried I'm putting to much work load on the engine of the vario like this.

I'll see if I can call Baratza a this point and see what they think. Pascal

A call is always a good idea.Also, it seems many Vario owners don't hear motor strain till the Macro is set at the top, and the Micro is moved step but step. Mine took about 4 steps on the Micro.Thus, my espresso setting is 1 Macro down, about 1/2 way up, generally depending on bean, it's age, etc.Remember, when you first get the grinder running to calibrate, both levers need to be fully DOWN.

I believe if you calibrate it in this manner, you should be able to pull shots in the vicinity of where I do.

Gave a call to Baratza, basically what they said is if the beans are light it's normal to have to calibrate it finer and that I should not worry about the burrs touching cause when there are beans inside the burrs won't touch anymore. Very reassuring. He said I could even calibrate it to the third macro settings if I wanted.

And by the way excellent service by Baratza, I was invited to call back if had any issues. Call was answered promptly by a knowledgeable person. All credit to them!!

I just have to pump up Baratza here and Colin in particular. I recently had a grinder issue with my Vario and after talking me through a couple of fixes they replaced the grinder. I have notice a flavour improvement on the new one and I am back to being able to dial it in with ease (I had run into a problem where adjustments would not change the grind size so tuning was part luck).

I am also impressed with the new grinder. I like the lettering to determine which step I was on and it is quieter then my previous Vario!!

I guess I just wonder why, using a Vario, anyone would feel the need to dose by the shot. Why, when there is a very accurate timer.With the mega-doses all seem to be doing these days, whats .2 or .3 gram differences to 20 gram shots?Anyone says they can taste that is way beyond Geekdom. :>D

I agree that dosing by the timer is as accurate taste wise as single dosing by weight. However, I love the versatility in terms of changing beans that single dosing allows for. I like bolder, chocolate leaning espresso in milk drinks and lighter, fruitier espresso straight. I also freeze my beans in small batches for this reason. Today was fun with my sister in law over trying a range of different espressos back to back. So far I have found the Vario to be remarkably consistent when changing settings back and forth for different blends when single dosing.

I would also like to express my gratitude to Colin who helped me fix a set screw problem over the phone on Friday. It was amazing how fast he diagnosed the issue, guided me through the repair and was genuinely concerned that we get it right. A great grinder with first rate service!

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